When a user is playing a video game on a video game system, generally the video game controls the sounds which are being played by the video game system, either directly through speakers on the video game system or through a connection to a monitor or television incorporating speakers, another device incorporating speakers, or separate speakers. Because the music content is limited to what is stored with the game, game music can be repetitive and become annoying to the game player.
One solution that some users employ is to mute the sound from the video game, via a control provided by the video game (e.g. a volume or mute function). In some cases the control allows the user to request selective muting, which mutes the game music. With selective muting, the user can choose to have only video game sound effects, and not the game music, playing from the video game system.
Another solution that some users employ is lowering the volume or muting completely the device through which the video game system is playing sounds. For example, if the video game system is connected to a television which is being used to display graphics and play sounds to the user, the user can mute the television to mute the sounds from the video game system. The user can then play music through another device. For example, a user who has muted the television can play music through a stereo system. However, this muting is not selective, and thus any game sounds such as dialogue and/or sound effects provided by the video game are muted as well as music provided by the video game.
In order to provide a user with flexibility in choosing background music for a video game, some video games provide a number of choices for background music. These choices of background music, however, are limited by the method of delivery of the video game. For example, if a video game is delivered on a disc medium, the disc medium will necessarily have a fixed size, and space to use for storing data for background music choices on the disc medium will be limited. Because these choices are limited, the background music choices can grow repetitive for a user.
A few video game consoles, e.g. the first version of Microsoft Corporation's XBOX® video game console, allow the user of a video game to request that the video game play user-selected music. For example, using such systems, a user could rip a music file, and request that the video game play that music file as background music for the video game while also providing the user with game sounds such as dialogue and/or sound effects. However, the playback of user-selected music is only possible when implemented by the video game being played, and a video game developer had the entire complex task of implementing the functionality which allowed a user to provide and select music.
Even where user-selected music can be played in a video game the user-selected music may not enhance the game experience. For example, a level in a video game may be best suited for eerie music. However, a user, not knowing this, may select happy music the user has ripped as background music while the game is played. This mismatch between the background music may detract from the user's experience of the video game. In addition, in order to have a variety of background music to choose from, the user must expend effort to load the music, for example by ripping a user-owned CD.